Capitals Stanley Cup Playoff Series vs. New York Rangers to Begin Wednesday, April 15

Second-seeded Washington hosts first two games of best-of-seven series

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals begin their quest for the Stanley Cup at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 15, when they host the New York Rangers in Game 1 of a best-of-seven series at Verizon Center to kick off the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs. Game 2 will follow at Verizon Center on Saturday, April 18, at 1 p.m.

The Southeast Division champion and No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, Washington will host Game 1, Game 2 and, if necessary, Games 5 and 7 in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series. Each game will be televised locally and in high definition on either Comcast SportsNet or NBC and broadcast on WJFK 106.7 FM in Washington , D.C. , and WCBM FOX 1370 AM in Baltimore . Games 2 through 7 have been selected by either NBC or VERSUS to be televised nationally in the U.S. , while TSN will broadcast the entire series throughout Canada .

After the first two games of the series in Washington, D.C., the series shifts to Madison Square Garden in New York for Games 3 and 4 (Monday and Wednesday, April 20 and 22, respectively, both at 7 p.m.). Games 5, 6 and 7, if necessary, alternate buildings and fall on every other day from April 24-28.

The Capitals went 3-0-1 against the Rangers this year while posting a club record 108 points and matching the franchise best with 50 wins. This marks the fifth time that the two former Patrick Division rivals will meet in the playoffs and is the first meeting since 1993-94. Each team has won two of the previous series.